Over the weekend, a professional soccer team in Bulgaria took the time to honor a former player who passed away by holding a moment of silence before a game. However, there was one slight problem: he wasn’t actually dead.
Sports teams frequently go out of their way to pay tribute to players, coaches, and other people who had a sizeable impact during their time with the organization in the wake of their death. Particularly significant figures will frequently be honored with a jersey patch or helmet decal memorializing their contributions on top of a pregame moment of silence typically given to others who don’t get that full treatment.
On Sunday, Arda Kardzhali, a Bulgarian soccer team that competes in the country’s top league, rolled out that second gesture ahead of a match against Levski Sofia to honor the legacy of Petko Ganchev, a former player who received a minute-long moment of silence observed by both teams and the spectators in attendance who were told he’d recently died at the age of 78.
According to Blitz, things took an interesting turn when Arda—a striker who played for Arda for five seasons and was one of their top goal scorers during his tenure—was greeted with the premature news of his passing when he returned to his house after coming home from work very much alive before encountering his sobbing wife who watched the moment of silence unfold on television.
Ganchev noted he usually watches every Arda game but was running late and ignored the many phone calls he received when he was driving back to his home in Radnevo (located around a four-hour drive from the city his former club calls home).
He subsequently missed the moment of silence that was held in his honor and quickly confirmed he was not, in fact, dead after returning some of the missed calls.
It’s not entirely clear how Arda came to the conclusion that Ganchev had perished, but he says he received a phone call from their director to personally apologize for the snafu that also led to the club issuing a public apology while wishing him “many more years of good health.”
Arda was also unable to get a win in his honor, as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.
The post Bulgarian Soccer Team Holds Moment Of Silence In Memory Of Player Who Wasn’t Actually Dead appeared first on BroBible.